The 6th edition of the biggest annual forum on European affairs in Romania took place on 8 June 2018, at JW Marriott Hotel in Bucharest. The Eurosfat 2018 Forum was organized by Europuls – Centre of European Expertise, under the high patronage of the European Parliament, European Commission, Bulgarian and Austrian Presidencies of the EU Council.
The 2018 Eurosfat edition welcomed over 350 participants, regrouped 66 speakers among whom a European commissioner, ambassadors, presidential counsellors, civil servants from the European institutions, representatives of international organizations, activists, journalists etc and consisted into 9 major themes: future of Europe, combatting disinformation, the Common Agricultural Policy and the new generation of young farmers, cybersecurity, Euro zone, Brexit, value-based healthcare, democracy and rule of law, the future of the energy system in the digital era, towards a European social Union. The event ended with a cultural event dedicated to a video-exhibition with the Black Sea region, with the director of the series being present at the debate.
Eurosfat 2018 took up a different format compared to previous years. On June 6 a Citizens’ Dialogue with Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport took place. On this occasion, we learnt about the European Commission’s vision of the future of the European Union and the potential of education in tackling the current challenges on the European continent, the chances of creating a European Education Union, and the Commission’s educational plans by 2025. The Citizens’ Dialogue was organized in partnership with the Representation of the European Commission in Romania and the Faculty of Political Science from the University of Bucharest.
The Eurosfat forum took place on June 8, and it began with a plenary session entitled “Romania’s Vision on the Future of Europe” which gathered at the same table leaders and representatives of the 7 main political parties and political groups of Romania. The main Romanian political leaders participated in a debate with the representatives of civil society, having thus the possibility to publicly state their opinion on Romania’s place in the future European project. During this session, the 7 representatives presented their parties’ positions on future of Europe, with the purpose to identify the future priorities of Romania as member state of a stronger Europe and the future domains in which Romania could play a strategic role at the European level. The plenary session was organized in partnership with the Representation of the European Commission in Romania.
This year we had the privilege to welcome Todor Churov (Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria in Romania), Isabel Rauscher (Ambassador Republic of Austria in Romania), Angela Cristea (Head of European Commission Representation in Romania), Princess Lia (wife of Prince Paul), Lord Martin Callanan (Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union), Urmas Paet (member of the European Parliament), Victor Negrescu (Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Government of Romania), Julian Popov (Goodwill Ambassador for energy and climate policy, Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, Fellow, European Climate Foundation), Mihail Dumitru (Deputy Director-General, Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission), Anca Păduraru (Spokesperson, European Commission), and the list continues with many important names from the national and European political environment, as well as from current civil society.
Eurosfat 2018 would not have been possible without the help of its partners and sponsors who believe in the future of the European Union. We thank you once again for your support: the European Parliament, the European Commission Representation in Romania, the Austrian and Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, Enel Romania, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the British Embassy in Romania, the Romanian Center for European Policies, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Romania, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Romania, Pfizer Romania, OMV Petrom, Janssen Romania, Garanti Bank, the Romanian-American Foundation, the European Institute in Romania, the Embassy of Belgium in Romania, GlobalFocus Center, the Aspen Institute Romania, Funky Citizens, Black Sea Diaries, Volunteers for Ideas and Projects Association, the Students’ Association from the Faculty of Political Sciences – University of Bucharest, Smart Everything Everywhere, Calea European, Geyc and Europunkt.
We invite you to follow the conclusions of the 6th edition of the Eurosfat Forum through figures, quotes, recommendations and images.
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